What did you have to give up?
Choice:
To follow in my hero's footsteps and gain a CPL and see where I'd end up.
Sacrifice:
-1st wife (Was married at 19 and in hindsight, probably a good thing)
-Social life for 4-5 years while I saved enough to pay for it all.
-About 5 years behind all of my school friends re: Money in the bank or amount paid off mortgage.
Gains:
-It sure beats working for a living.
- Am not an office drone catching the same train to work 5 days a week until I retire and die shortly after.
- Pictures worth 1000's words soooooo...
Would I so it again, hell yes.
B4F83
I hope 27 doesn't count as late twenties... where did my youth go...
I agree with the statement that it should best be done whilst you're single though. And Mike has the most valid point.
To follow in my hero's footsteps and gain a CPL and see where I'd end up.
Sacrifice:
-1st wife (Was married at 19 and in hindsight, probably a good thing)
-Social life for 4-5 years while I saved enough to pay for it all.
-About 5 years behind all of my school friends re: Money in the bank or amount paid off mortgage.
Gains:
-It sure beats working for a living.
- Am not an office drone catching the same train to work 5 days a week until I retire and die shortly after.
- Pictures worth 1000's words soooooo...
Would I so it again, hell yes.
B4F83
but now im late 20s with everything ahead of me
I agree with the statement that it should best be done whilst you're single though. And Mike has the most valid point.
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I have to agree with you Homesick Angel. I did the 10 years in an office job thing, earning great cash, living a good life in inner Melbourne in a nice house with a nice car and nothing really to worry about except where to go out for dinner. Working crazy hours sucked but the cash kinda made it worth it. I turned 30 though and had a 'quarter life crisis' and wondered if there was anything else to life apart from this. I'd got a PPL in 1995 but never kept it current due to the cost but always thought about it and wondered if one day i could get back into it.
I decided to go for it and sold the house to pay for the lessons, changed to a less demanding job and went all out to get the CPL. The life completely turned around but it seemed worth it. At the start of this year i sold all my belongings, bought a cheap car, broke up with the missus and moved to the NT. I was lucky enough to pick up a charter job with an operator fairly quickly. I'm just getting by from week to week and working pretty hard but it has actually energised me after being stagnant for so long. There's no better feeling than being paid to fly after throwing so much cash into it during training. I'm 33 now and wish i'd done it earlier as there are lots of young guys that are so much further ahead but it is what it is.
I've got a long way to go and have no idea where ill end up or what ill be doing. That said, despite all that has been given up its still been worth it and if at the end of the day it stops being fun, i can always head south and drive a desk again. Its better to have a crack though than die wondering (wow that was very 'zen'!).
I think the theme along here is that we all have this addiction to our profession that most outsiders just don't understand!
HHH
I decided to go for it and sold the house to pay for the lessons, changed to a less demanding job and went all out to get the CPL. The life completely turned around but it seemed worth it. At the start of this year i sold all my belongings, bought a cheap car, broke up with the missus and moved to the NT. I was lucky enough to pick up a charter job with an operator fairly quickly. I'm just getting by from week to week and working pretty hard but it has actually energised me after being stagnant for so long. There's no better feeling than being paid to fly after throwing so much cash into it during training. I'm 33 now and wish i'd done it earlier as there are lots of young guys that are so much further ahead but it is what it is.
I've got a long way to go and have no idea where ill end up or what ill be doing. That said, despite all that has been given up its still been worth it and if at the end of the day it stops being fun, i can always head south and drive a desk again. Its better to have a crack though than die wondering (wow that was very 'zen'!).
I think the theme along here is that we all have this addiction to our profession that most outsiders just don't understand!
HHH
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The fact of the matter is, if you have to ask yourself over and over agian, is it worth it is it worth it, it clearly ISN'T worth it so don't bother spending the money!! PPL, CPL whatever. If you want it, if you are passionate about it and driven by success and achievement whether you want to instruct in Tomahawks or fly 767s, you will find a way to achieve that.
I did my PPL and CPL over 3.5 years, working fulltime and studying part time. I am self employed, running a non-aviation company and have a contract flying company, pays for all my currency costs, I get to teach guys how to fly, how to fly aerobatics (most important, people who actually want to learn and pay for it themselves), do scenic flying in antique biplanes, work on a biplane restoration project of my own, building our first house and frankly, I too, like a few others here am glad I didn't pursue flying as a fulltime occupation. Having said that I know heaps of people that have made the most of it and are having an absolute ball in all corners of the world.
All that matters is you are happy, who cares about the rest. Flying for me, is a passion first, and a job second. And it will never swap round, the day it does, is the day I walk away from it.
I did my PPL and CPL over 3.5 years, working fulltime and studying part time. I am self employed, running a non-aviation company and have a contract flying company, pays for all my currency costs, I get to teach guys how to fly, how to fly aerobatics (most important, people who actually want to learn and pay for it themselves), do scenic flying in antique biplanes, work on a biplane restoration project of my own, building our first house and frankly, I too, like a few others here am glad I didn't pursue flying as a fulltime occupation. Having said that I know heaps of people that have made the most of it and are having an absolute ball in all corners of the world.
All that matters is you are happy, who cares about the rest. Flying for me, is a passion first, and a job second. And it will never swap round, the day it does, is the day I walk away from it.
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I agree with the statement that it should best be done whilst you're single though.
She didn't run away then and is still around despite the fact that we have spent the last 18 months living in seperate states so we can both pursue our careers. Got married last year and a week later I was back in the NT while she stayed in SYD. We've spent less than four weeks actually together since been married 10 months ago. Friends all reckon we're crazy.
Id be lying if I said that it wasn't tough on both of us and that at times I hadn't thought about giving it away to go back home, but we both know that in the scheme of things a couple of years isn't that long and eventually one of us will land a good job where the other one is. At least I have somone to share it with (even if it is only on the phone) and it is nice to have somone to talk to about non aviation stuff so you can keep things in perspective when you have a crappy day.
I know im really lucky and for a lot of people it would never work but its not impossible. I know of two other guys in similar situations too and they seem to make it work.
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j3pipercub, first time i was in a plane was when i was 15, flying to lady elliot with my parents on a nth qld road trip. This sparked the interest in flying. How long you been flying there for?
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Great post Jack
. We all need to remember the importance of choice. The pilot in command role is very much about choices.
Making the correct choice becomes a life/death one extremely early on.
Try teaching that to a 15/16 year old more obsessed about carrying a mobile phone than an accurate time piece.
. We all need to remember the importance of choice. The pilot in command role is very much about choices. Making the correct choice becomes a life/death one extremely early on.
Try teaching that to a 15/16 year old more obsessed about carrying a mobile phone than an accurate time piece.
No longer flying for them, but it was an awesome couple of years. If I won the lotto I would live in Hervey Bay and happily fly the bongos for the rest of my life. There are a few more photos on this thread.
http://www.pprune.org/dg-p-general-a...a-vs-c208.html
j3
http://www.pprune.org/dg-p-general-a...a-vs-c208.html
j3
